Two-time champion Andy Murray has withdrawn from Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament with a “heavy heart”.
The 31-year-old Briton said it was “too soon” to play five-set matches after his comeback from hip surgery.
Murray returned at Queen’s last month after almost a year out, losing to Nick Kyrgios, then played at Eastbourne, where he was beaten by Kyle Edmund.
In a statement, the Scot said he was “looking forward” to the US hard-court season, which starts in August.Murray, who won Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, had been drawn against Frenchman Benoit Paire in the first round of the Championships, which start on Monday.
The former world number one said he had made “significant progress” over the past 10 days and did “everything he could” to be ready.
“It is with a heavy heart that I’m announcing that I’ll be withdrawing from Wimbledon this year,” the three-time Grand Slam champion said.
“We’ve decided that playing best-of-five-set matches might be a bit too soon in the recovery process.
“I will start practising on the hard courts from tomorrow and continuing with my rehab and recovery and I’m looking forward to the US hard-court season.”
This will be the first time since 2007, when he withdrew with a wrist injury, that Murray, who is now world number 156, has not played at the All England Club.
Lucky loser Jason Jung from Chinese Taipei will replace him in the draw.
Murray’s year of setbacks and comebacks
- 12 July 2017: Loses to Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon
- Misses the rest of 2017 season and loses the number one ranking
- January 2018: Pulls out of Australian Open and has hip surgery
- 19 June 2018: Loses to Nick Kyrgios on his competitive return
- 25 June: Beats Stan Wawrinka in Eastbourne, his first victory in almost a year
- 27 June: Loses to Kyle Edmund
- 1 July: Withdraws from Wimbledon
Source: BBC
